Fitch Rates $325MM Illinois GO Bonds 'AA'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. assigns an 'AA' rating to approximately $325 million State of Illinois general obligation bonds (GOs), series of January 2006. The bonds, maturing Jan. 1, 2007-2026, are expected to sell through negotiation with a syndicate led by Citigroup on Jan. 10. Fitch also affirms the 'AA' rating of $19.8 billion outstanding Illinois long-term GOs. Illinois' 'AA' rating reflects its broad economy, which is gaining momentum after a long slowdown, moderate yet above-average debt levels, a large unfunded pension liability, and constrained finances marked by pension and Medicaid funding pressures. Finances are stabilizing along with the economy, although persistent sizable accounts payable liabilities remain and large required pension contributions beginning in fiscal 2008 will pose a major budgetary challenge. Following three years of employment losses, Illinois' economy slowly began to gain jobs again in mid-2004, although annual employment was slightly down over that of 2003. Growth has gradually accelerated in 2005, and November employment was 1.1% above November 2004, led by professional and business services, up 4.3%. Manufacturing, still nearly 12% of the work force, continues to decline, down 1% from last year. Third quarter of 2005 personal income statistics showed growth accelerating but still below that of the U.S. Per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. personal income in Illinois is 104% of the U.S., ranking the state 13th. As the economy has improved, so have state revenue collections. Fiscal 2005 revenues were 5.8% above 2004, with net individual income tax up 11.5% and sales taxes sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. up 4.2%. Cash balances, including the stabilization fund Stabilization fund may refer to:
The completion of a one-year, or 12-month, accounting period. Notes: The reason that a company's fiscal year often differs from the calendar year and does not close on Dec 31, is due to the nature of company's needs. . Large accounts payable and accrued liabilities Accrued liabilities are liabilities which have occurred, but have not been paid or logged under accounts payable during an accounting period; in other words, obligations for goods and services provided to a company for which invoices have not yet been received. have created a large GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). undesignated general fund balance deficit, which equaled $2.6 billion, or 10.1% of annual general fund revenues, at the end of fiscal 2004, improved from $4.5 billion deficit in the prior year. Fiscal 2005 GAAP results are not yet available. Authorized fiscal 2006 spending is 2.3% above fiscal 2005, although this austere growth rate was largely achieved through reduced pension payments. State source revenues are projected to rise 2.4%, using conservatively projected income tax growth of 4.4% and sales tax growth of 3.8%. To date, fiscal 2006 state revenue growth is 5.4%, with net individual income taxes up 6.5% and sales tax up 6.2% over 2005. While revenues are improving, Medicaid spending pressures remain and notably, beginning in fiscal 2006, the state will expand Medicaid to enroll all 253,000 uninsured children in Illinois. The pension bonds, issued in 2003, increased the state's tax-supported debt to an upper moderate level. Tax-supported debt, at $23.4 billion, equals 5.3% of personal income. Excluding pension debt not used for budgetary purposes, debt equals a more modest 3.5% of personal income. Still, one of the state's challenges remains the funding of its pensions. As of June 30, 2005, unfunded accrued actuarial ac·tu·ar·y n. pl. ac·tu·ar·ies A statistician who computes insurance risks and premiums. [Latin liability was $38.6 billion, resulting in a 60% funded ratio. While 2005 pension reforms were a positive, most of the actuarial gains were given back to provide budgetary relief in fiscal years 2006 and 2007. Fully funding required future pension contributions, which, including pension bond debt service, rise from $1.9 billion in fiscal 2007 to $2.8 billion in 2008 and $3.8 billion in 2010, looms as a major challenge. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria, and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance, and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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